Republican Elise Stefanik Wants ‘Independent Investigation’ Into Cuomo’s Nursing Home Policies

Cuomo Stefanik

Republican New York Representative Elise Stefanik is calling for an “independent investigation” into Democratic New York Governor Andrew Cuomo’s nursing home policies.

Stefanik Think Gov. Cuomo’s Bad Policy Led to More Deaths and Flawed Data

Stefanik said Tuesday that an investigation is necessary after reports suggested that her state was undercounting the number of COVID-19-related deaths in assisted living facilities.

New York leads the country in nursing home deaths, with over 5,000 reported.

RELATED: Federal Intel Boss Confirms Investigation Is Underway Into Whether COVID-19 Outbreak Was ‘Result Of An Accident’ In Wuhan, China Lab

Stefanik told Fox News’ “Fox & Friends“ on Tuesday, “New York has mismanaged how we have approached and how we’ve protected our seniors in our nursing homes. We knew, going into this, that our most vulnerable are our seniors and particularly in those assisted living facilities, whether they’re senior living facilities or nursing homes.”

Cuomo originally required nursing homes to admit COVID-19 patients, but the governor reversed that policy in early May.

“New York, when compared to other states, took a number of negative actions that cost over 5,000 lives,” Stefanik said. “They also didn’t fully tell the public how many seniors’ deaths there were coming from nursing homes. So that reporting data, they didn’t count the hospital deaths when there was a positive case that was transmitted because of the senior nursing home.”

RELATED: Hawley: China Must Be Investigated for Role in Coronavirus Pandemic

Stefanik: ‘It’s not just Republicans who are calling for this independent investigation. It’s Democrats as well’

Stefanik also said that she does not believe a fair investigation will happen if directed by current Democratic New York Attorney General Letitia James.

“I’ve heard from families who are still grieving for loss of their loved ones and they deserve answers,” Stefanik said. “And it’s not just Republicans who are calling for this independent investigation. It’s Democrats as well.”

“It cannot be conducted by New York’s attorney general either,” she added. “It needs to be an independent investigation.”

“I’m calling for the Department of HHS to conduct this independent investigation, but I think it needs to come from the federal government,” Stefanik finished.

is a professional writer and editor with over 15 years of experience in conservative media and Republican politics. He... More about John Hanson

Mentioned in this article: